Instant Reader Report
on Cook Island Divers / Local Lodge in
Cook Islands / Rarotonga on
2001/09
by
Tim McKenzie , ACT, Australia
Report Number 020823031326737

 Maldives, Tahiti, Australia 

Dive Conditions

No restriction once ability demonstrated  

[None]  

Overall Rating

We Had High hopes for this trip with our Australian Dive club. The viz was
suposed to be spectacular and the diving great. Well....Viz was good :(
Water touted at 26-27 C but was significantly colder and several of us
borrowed/hired additional protection as our 3mm suits were simply not
enough. Bring a 5mm.
The Dive shop was pretty good; Picked us up in the morning (7:45am) and
took us down to the Shop. They have 3 purpose built RIBs that seem more
than adequate for your needs. We had 10 in the group and the RIBs weren't
too crowded. Good Tank racks. Initial equipment set up at the shop (new
compressors are great) then into our suits and down to the dock in their
Van. We must have been a little unlucky because there seemed to be a wind
blowing most days but as the island is small it was always possible to
find the lee side.
Our dive guide MEL was great and helpful but One "guide" to 10
divers meant we all had to load up the boats and help ourselves. Not
really an issue as we were all experienced.
Initial dive was obviously a check out for Mel to see what we were like.
Only dive we were asked to stay at or above a certain depth (25 meters) to
see what we were like. After that essentially free for all, with Mel
leading the group if they wanted to go with him.
The dissapointing thing was the "bio-diversity" - or lack of
it....The corals (almost all hard - few soft) where dull and lifeless
looking. They appeared 'healthy' not bleached, but far from spectactular.
The fish life was also pretty sparse...yes the viz was great - but it
emphasized the lack of critters! On a few occasions we saw small reef
sharks - Mel very excited....Also found a few Helgardia Nudibranchs and
one spanish dancer. There are also a few small wrecks which we dived for
variety but in honesty this is the closest I have come to being bored
diving!!
There were 2 dives a day and supposedly the option for a night dive but we
didn't bother...
Another island (Aotangi?) in the Cooks may have a better reputation - but
for our money and time, we would not bother returning to Rarotonga to
dive. 

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